In the field of entertainment electronics as well as in the field of industrial automation which is assisted by mobile communication devices, touch-sensitive surfaces are frequently used as user interfaces, for example between man and machine. For example, smart phones or tablets frequently have what are referred to as touchpads or entire touch displays. In particular, inputs are carried out with the hand or with a finger or a plurality of fingers by means of the touch-sensitive areas. In this context, the touchpad can be determined solely for the purpose of inputting a gesture. In this context, capacitive, resistive and inductive methods are used for determining an input gesture. In addition, screens or displays are used as combined input devices and output devices in that the screen surface is configured in a touch-sensitive fashion. Moreover, tablet PCs or smart phones make widespread use of multitouch gestures. Here, capacitive methods are particularly widespread.
In order to perform operator control of touch-sensitive user interfaces, the user requires physical access to the touch-sensitive area. In the industrial environment, it is, however, in some cases desirable not to permit direct physical access to a device, for example a control computer of an industrial control system, or to permit only restricted access. It may therefore be advantageous, for example, to install a device at which an input is to be carried out in an inaccessible location. In addition, the device may for example be stored inaccessibly in a pocket or a case during a working step.
It is known from the prior art to provide input devices such as, for example, a mouse or a touchpad or a sensor for sensing gestures, externally. A device is actuated by means of these external input devices.
It is also known to attach a device with an actuatable pushbutton knob to a body part, such as, for example, a finger. A device for a smart phone is known for this purpose from the company Ringbow.
Against this background, an aspect is to generate an input command for a device.